Preventative Health Care
Our Philosophy
At Pacific Crest Sporthorse, we believe that the best way to treat a sick horse is to prevent
him from becoming sick in the first place. And we want you to be worry-free regarding
your horse’s routine preventative health care needs. Our goal is to stay abreast of current
developments regarding vaccination, parasite control strategies, lameness prevention and
basic health care. We pay close attention to current research, and make sure your horse
benefits from the most up-to-date recommendations available.
Benefits
Between grazing in the pasture, traveling to shows and the stress and strain of daily
training, your horse is constantly exposed to a variety of health threats. Our preventative
medicine program consists of detailed vaccination and deworming protocols, strategies to
preserve soundness and readily available consultations on basic husbandry, including
nutrition, housing, and turn out. The benefits of a carefully constructed preventative
health care plan are clear:
● Boost your horse’s immunity and prevent infectious disease
● Prevent spread of disease to other horses
● Prevent colic, weight loss and unthriftiness due to internal parasites
● Protect your horse’s joints and soft tissues from injury
● Insure optimal nutrition for overall well-being
● Prevent injury
Basic Preventative Health Care Services
As a client of PCS, we can help you with every aspect of your horse’s care. We offer not
only automatic preventative health care programs for large boarding barns and training
stables, but also carefully monitored reminder systems for the individual horse owner. If
you have questions regarding your horse’s routine care, our doctors strive to be readily
available any time you need us. We are always simply a phone call away.
Vaccination
Vaccination protocols are most effective when tailored to your horse’s particular
situation. Because of on-going vaccine research, there are often new vaccines or new
recommendations for vaccine use. At PCS, we evaluate your horse’s circumstances
before deciding which vaccines suit his particular needs. We choose our vaccinations
carefully, taking care to minimize the risk for side effects while making sure your horse is
adequately protected against disease Our basic vaccination recommendation includes the
following:
Spring:
Tetanus
Eastern and Western Sleeping Sickness
West Nile Virus
Intranasal influenza
Fall:
Rabies
Intranasal influenza
Based on need:
Rhinopneumonitis
Potomac Horse Fever
Deworming
Our current recommendations for deworming protocols are based on recent information
about changing parasite populations and concerns about dewormer resistance. We
recommend an individually tailored deworming schedule that is carefully monitored for
effectiveness using routine fecal egg counts. The following outlines the two deworming
protocols we currently advocate for mature horses.
Modified Interval Deworming
Spring (March/April)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with moxidectin/praziquantel
Check fecal egg counts on all horses with EPG>200 prior to deworming
Summer (June/July)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with EPG>200 (dewormer choice based on fecal exam)
Fall (September/October)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with ivermectin
Winter (December/January)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with EPG>200 (dewormer choice based on fecal exam)
Daily Deworming
(Recommended for horses maintained on pasture in groups to minimize parasite egg
contamination of pastures)
Daily administration of Strongid C (Pyrantel Tartrate)
Spring (March/April)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with ivermectin/praziquantel
Check fecal egg counts on all horses with EPG>200 prior to deworming
Fall (September/October
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with ivermectin
Check fecal egg counts on all horses with EPG>200 prior to deworming
Maintaining the Performance Horse
Many hard working equine athletes seem to benefit from a variety of supplements or
medications designed to help support joints and soft tissue structures. We advocate
regular use of medications such as Adequan or Legend or varying schedules according to
your horse’s needs—and can help you design a program best suited for your situation and
your horse’s training and competition schedule. We can also help with regular soundness
evaluations and monitoring of your horse’s condition in order to determine additional
steps you might consider to insure your hard working horse stays as sound as possible.
Basic Husbandry Consultation
We believe that no question is too small to ask, and pride ourselves on our availability. If
you have a question, a doctor will be available to discuss it with you, usually that very
day. We are up-to-date on horse issues such as nutrition and behavior, and we are happy
to discuss basic farm management issues, such as arena footing, pasture management,
and fencing.
Beyond the Basics
We work closely with the areas top farriers, alternative therapists, and even equine
facility designers. We can help you establish solid relationships with all of the
individuals who can be a part of your horse’s health care team. Whether it’s shoeing,
saddle fit or footing concerns—we’re here to help. And if we don’t know the answer, we
are happy to point you in the direction of someone who will!